Orrery: A Story of Mechanical Solar Systems, Clocks, and English Nobility (Astronomers' Universe)

Unless you want an overview of London and aristocratic history during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, skip this one. Based on the title and description I was expecting a history and technical description of orreries. Yeah, there's a little bit of that, but only a few pages. There are examples of orreries from the period, and a couple pages of astronomical information, but only two or three pages of technical information about the orrery itself. And while the historical background of the period, which is 95% of the book, is interesting, I'd rather read something from a real historian.

I found this book fascinating. it covers a huge range of details, much more than suggested by the title! Lots of good clear pictures.I'll write more when I have got to the end of this book, it takes a lot more time to digest than you might think.Absorbing, informative and very addictive. A steal at the price, especially when compared to Henry C King's tome at 10 times the price!.

great

Quite unhappy with this. It might be ok in print, but the Kindle version is missing plates, has quite the number of typos, and in places, seems to be missing text altogether.

A reasonable account of the history and development of the orrery, with many illustrations to accompany the narrative.